Method, device, and system of securely storing data

Abstract

Some demonstrative embodiments of the invention include a method, device an / or system of securely storing data, for example, by preventing unauthorized disclosure of the stored data, and / or ensuring the integrity of the stored data. An apparatus able to securely store data may include, according to some demonstrative embodiments of the invention, a secure control configuration, which may include a secure memory to securely store a key; an encryption module to generate an encrypted record by encrypting a data record to be stored using the key; and a controller to generate authentication information for authenticating the integrity of the encrypted record based on the key. The apparatus may also include a storage for storing the encrypted record and the authentication information. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] Conventional methods for preventing unauthorized disclosure of data may implement various cryptographic ciphers, e.g., a cipher according to the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), to encrypt the data. The encrypted data may be decrypted by an authorized user using a secret key. [0002] Unfortunately, such conventional methods may not provide sufficient protection against unauthorized manipulation of the data and / or the ability to detect such manipulation in certain situations. For example, the encrypted data may be replaced without authorization, e.g., in its entirety, by a previous version of the encrypted data. The authorized user may not be able to detect such a replacement, and may unknowingly treat the previous version of the data as being the current version. Furthermore, in such methods the secret key may be internally stored, e.g., on a device used for storing the encrypted data, or may be provided by the user. If internally stored, the sec...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is a system for securely storing and accessing data. It uses encryption and a secure control configuration to prevent unauthorized disclosure of stored data and ensure the integrity of the data. The system has a large capacity compared to the secure memory, which can store a key and an encryption module. The controller generates authentication information to verify the integrity of the stored data and can access the decrypted record based on the authentication of the record, the integrity of the group of records, or the set of groups. The controller can also update version information and determine if the stored records are up-to-date. Overall, the invention provides a secure way to manage data storage and access.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, such conventional methods may not provide sufficient protection against unauthorized manipulation of the data and / or the ability to detect such manipulation in certain situations.

The authorized user may not be able to detect such a replacement, and may unknowingly treat the previous version of the data as being the current version.

Conversely, if the secret key is to be provided by the user, a device using the protection mechanism may have limited “transparency” with respect to other applications and / or may be able to store only limited types of data.

For example, such devices may not be applicable for storing data not owned by the user having the secret key, e.g., because the user may deliberately change the data, e.g., using the secret key.

However, such protection structure may be relatively complex and / or expensive and, thus, may not provide cost-effective protection for large amounts of data.

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